Penn Out For A While

Looks like some up-and-coming left tackles will be getting more reps than they thought this camp because Donald Penn is going to be chilling out in the tub.

Penn became injured working on in Los Angeles and notified the Bucs about his injury several days ago. He has been working with trainers at One Buc Place the past few days but will not be able to start training camp with the rest of the players.

The headline says “several weeks”, so that likely means most of training camp. Penn may make it in for a preseason game, but we’re probably not going to hear much from him until the regular season is upon us. Normally, this wouldn’t be such a big deal because Penn is a pro and knows what he’s doing. But Penn has had conditioning issues in the past and maybe being sedentary during this critical period isn’t the best thing for a guy who tends to pack on the weight. And also… whole new playbook and coaching staff. Of all years, this would probably be the one where Penn (or any veteran player for that matter) would want extra reps. So this kind of sucks.

Speaking of conditioning, holy shit:

Schiano said several players failed the Bucs conditioning test, which consists of 16, 110-yard sprints. He declined to name the players who did not pass, but some of them won’t be allowed to practice until they reach a certain conditioning level.

Do they get to rest for a day between sprints? Because that’s probably the only way I could pass it. After my flag football team is done with practice, we generally run four sprints across the field, which is roughly 80 yards long. We rest for about 60 seconds between them and after we’re done, we are legally dead for a good hour. Running 16 110-yard sprints is fucking nuts. Maybe next year Schiano should make his team run the Tough Mudder course every day before practice as a warm-up.

3 Comments to “Penn Out For A While”

I want Penn to succeed. His success will translate into our success. But let’s look at what he has done since signing that big contract. Once he got his money he has done nothing. He was fat and out of shape last year, now comes up with an injury to miss training camp this year. It’s time for the next guy to step up.

I disagree Mark. I think Penn was one of the highlights, or at least one of the least disappointing players on the Bucs last season. Although it doesn’t mean much, Penn is still recognized as one of the NFL’s top 100 players by his peers.

Penn is a puzzling player. I have read articles and commentary that he wants to be a great player, and specifically a pro-bowler. However, at times his play on the field does not match his intentions. The same goes for his conditioning. There was a reason that Dominick wanted to put “fat” clauses in his contract. He needs to get a personal trainer full time. Hopefully he will be at 100% by the time the season starts, and can see some action in the preseason.